ate 


pp^SS; 

HWv 


B8 

Iwi 

^\y\>'vvvv&v'^s& 

5k»»k»ww 


V  v  V1 


>'  >A\V 


^^v\yv\vv*^y\\\'>.'‘^yy 


•  '  \ •  w.voVv.'.'^  v. 

>M^'_\v/v>>AV>A'>\\\vr\\V\\\'\V^\\\\vCvvV^ 


N;<WyW-S. 


smais 


SAXWXJ 


■  '.V  a>Vn‘  Km 

Xv\\wv^x» 


mtHilil 


✓ 


DS  149  . S4 

Sampter,  Jessie  E.  1883- 
1938. 

The  book  of  the  nations 
(Sefer  ha-goyim. ) 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  NATIONS 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE 
NATIONS 


dm  i£D) 


TRANSCRIBED  BY 

J.  E.  SAMPTER 


NEW  YORK 

E.  P.  DUTTON  &  COMPANY 

68l  FIFTH  AVENUE 


COPYRIGHT,  1917, 

By  E.  P.  DUTTON  &  CO 


printed  in  the  United  States  of  Htnerica 


PUBLISHERS’  NOTE 


Sometimes  a  book  appears  that 
can  not  be  referred  to  any  of  the 
conventional  categories.  Such  a 
book  is  The  Book  of  the  Nations. 

At  first  sight  it  may  seem  to  be  an 
imitation  or  adaptation  of  the  pro¬ 
phetic  writings  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment;  yet  as  the  reader  goes  deeper 
it  will  become  evident  that  such  an 
idea  is  quite  untenable,  for  imitation 
implies  a  certain  lack  of  sincerity, 
and  if  one  thing  is  clearer  than  an¬ 
other  it  is  the  burning  earnestness  of 
the  writer. 


H 


Publishers’  Note 

The  Book  oj  the  Nations  is  in 
effect  a  message — a  spiritual  mes¬ 
sage,  so  vital  and  so  urgent  that 
in  its  delivery  the  method  and  even 
the  words  of  those  fiery  message- 
bearers  of  old,  the  Hebrew  prophets, 
seem  the  most  natural  vehicle  of  its 
expression,  the  writer  being,  as  it 
were,  but  the  mouthpiece  of  a  greater 
Power. 

Many  who  read  The  Book  of 
the  Nations  will  find  its  matter 
as  strange  in  these  days  as  its  man¬ 
ner.  Aspersing  the  very  things  on 
which  modern  society  prides  itself, 
it  dares  to  deal  with  eternal  realities 
and  to  rebuke  fearlessly  the  eternal 
infidelities  of  man  towards  God. 

[vi] 


Publishers5  Note 

The  Publishers  realize  that  some 
will  dislike  The  Book  of  the  Nations, 
and  some  will  resent  it,  and  that 
others  again  will  frankly  despise  it 
as  Jewish;  but  they  themselves  feel 
that  in  The  Book  of  the  Nations 
a  voice  that  has  been  all  too  long 
silent  makes  itself  heard  with  com¬ 
pelling  beauty,  and  that  this  out¬ 
wardly  unassuming  little  volume  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  [prod¬ 
ucts  of  this  strange  and  significant 
crisis  in  the  history  of  man. 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE  NATIONS 


THE  BOOK  OF  THE 
NATIONS 

I 

JT  repented  the  Lord  that  he  had 
made  nations. 

For  God  saw  that  the  wickedness 
of  nations  was  great  on  the  earth, 
and  that  every  imagination  of  the 
thoughts  of  their  statesmen  was  only 
evil  continually. 

For  they  were  set  nation  against 
nation,  and  each  nation  knew  itself 
for  sovereign  in  its  own  deeds  and  as 
the  sole  and  almighty  judge  of  its  own 
actions. 

[il 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

The  purpose  of  each  nation  was  to 
be  great  beyond  all  other  nations, 
to  dominate  all  other  nations,  and  to 
build  cities  and  towers  whose  tops 
should  reach  to  heaven. 

Then  the  Lord  remembered  how  he 
had  made  nations  upon  the  earth, 
and  how  the  whole  earth  was  at  first 
of  one  language  and  of  one  speech. 

And  the  Lord  had  said,  Behold, 
the  people  is  one  and  they  have  all 
one  language,  and  now  they  begin 
to  imagine  that  there  is  only  one 
knowledge  and  one  wisdom  and  that 
they  possess  it  wholly. 

Now  will  their  arrogance  grow 
boundless,  but  they  themselves  will 

[2] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

cease  to  grow,  thinking  that  they 
have  attained  and  achieved  the  pur¬ 
poses  of  God. 

So  the  Lord  scattered  them  abroad 
upon  the  face  of  all  the  earth.  And 
they  learned  each  nation  its  own 
language  and  its  own  tongue,  that 
each  nation  might  worship  the  Lord 
in  its  own  way  and  serve  him  accord¬ 
ing  to  its  own  fashion.  So  should 
the  nations  restrain  each  other  from 
arrogance  and  boundless  conceit,  and 
correct  each  other  with  the  diversity 
of  their  knowledge. 

But  the  Lord  looked,  and  behold, 
all  the  nations  were  set  against  one 
another  as  wild  cats  waiting  to  spring 

[3] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

or  as  tigers  tearing  and  devouring 
each  other. 

The  strong  nation  devoured  the 
weak  nation  and  the  weak  deceived 
the  strong,  and  each  thought  itself 
alone  to  be  right  and  noble  and  the 
chosen  of  God  to  make  the  whole 
earth  walk  in  its  own  way. 

Howsoever  the  saints  and  the 
scholars  in  each  nation  might  wor¬ 
ship  God,  yet  the  nation  itself  wor¬ 
shipped  only  itself. 

The  laws  of  God  and  man  served 
the  convenience  of  statesmen,  and 
the  necessity  of  the  conqueror  knew 
no  law. 

One  nation  forced  a  smaller  one  to 
use  its  tongue  and  to  speak  in  a  Ian- 

14] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

guage  strange  to  its  people,  saying: 
Master ,  Master . 

Nations  also  were  slaves  unto 
nations,  and  the  earth  was  filled  with 
violence. 

And  the  blood  of  a  nation  cried 
out  of  the  ground,  but  there  was  none 
to  hear. 

That  violence  might  rule,  the  vio¬ 
lent  came  to  be  rulers,  and  put  upon 
themselves  the  garb  of  benevolence 
to  make  order  among  the  weak. 
Therefore  the  nations  also  were 

corrupt  before  God  in  their  inward 
parts. 

The  conqueror  called  himself  a 
father  of  the  conquered,  as  the  wolf 
is  father  to  the  Iamb. 


[5] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Tyranny  put  on  the  garments  of 
law,  sharing  God’s  eternal  statutes. 

And  he  that  rebelled  against  tyr¬ 
anny  bought  the  tyrant  with  gold, 
or  slew  him  with  steel,  and  set'  up 
gold  and  steel  for  a  god  as  the  judge 
of  righteousness. 

They  overcome  evil  with  evil,  war 
with  conquest,  tyranny  with  mur¬ 
der  and  slavery  with  poverty. 

The  rich  drive  the  poor  not  with 
lashes  but  with  hunger. 

And  then  they  say:  It  is  God's  will 

God  gave  a  law  unto  man.  This 
law  is  simple  and  clear.  It  is  a 
light  unto  the  eyes  that  see  and  a 
path  for  the  feet  that  run. 

This  law  is  called  justice . 

[6] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

But  they  have  made  a  law  for 
themselves  that  is  terrible  and  in¬ 
tricate,  and  they  cannot  escape  it, 
for  the  evil  will  and  the  good  will  are 
caught  alike  in  its  meshes,  and  it  is 
darkness  to  the  eyes  that  see  and  a 
stumbling  block  to  the  feet  that  run. 

This  law  is  called  necessity. 

Their  bread  depends  upon  keeping 
this  law.  And  they  call  it  the  law 
of  God. 

It  takes  the  bread  from  the  mouths 
of  babes;  it  oppresses  the  widow;  it 
puts  a  price  upon  children’s  heads, 
and  drives  their  fathers  in  a  yoke. 
It  scrambles  blindly  to  devour  a 
land,  leaving  hideousness  and  waste 
and  hunger  for  its  people. 


[7] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Their  judges  judge  by  this  law, 
perverting  justice. 

And  their  statesmen  govern  by 
this  law,  taking  bribes  to  feed  them¬ 
selves.  Their  teachers  teach  it  and 
their  preachers  preach  it,  and  are  well 
fed. 

The  driven  herds  of  laborers  also 
learn  it  by  heart,  saying: 

Keep  out  my  neighbor  from  across 
the  seas,  lest  he  take  the  fodder  from 
my  mouth . 

And  all  the  false  prophets  cry: 
Peace,  peace,  when  there  is  no  peace. 

And  all  the  plausible  priests  say: 
It  is  the  will  of  God;  we  must  accept  it. 

Only  the  fields  of  wheat  that  blind¬ 
ly  feed  men  know  it  is  not  the  will  of 

[8] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

God.  And  the  waves  of  the  sea  that 
blindly  bear  men  from  coast  to  coast 
know  it  is  not  God’s  will.  For  these 
things  know  the  simple  law  that  all 
things  are  brothers. 

Righteous  men  also  know  it. 

* 

The  nations  have  forgotten  this 
law. 

They  say:  A  single  man  received 
the  law ;  let  each  man  singly  keep  it. 

But  once  God  gave  the  law  to  a 
nation  for  nations.  And  the  nations 
rejected  it. 

Hence  God’s  portion  lies  with  the 
righteous  man  and  the  nations  are 
doomed. 

And  he  sent  his  prophets  to  proph¬ 
esy  the  fall  of  nations. 


[9] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

He  put  the  hate  of  nations  into 
the  hearts  of  his  saints. 

For  why  should  the  pure  wine  of 
love  be  poured  out  a  libation  to  idols? 

Why  should  the  false  god  of  each 
nation  be  called  by  the  name  of  the 
Lord? 

Why  should  the  many  good  men 
become  slaughtering  heroes  for  Mo¬ 
loch? 

Therefore  the  righteous  man  speaks 
as  God  commands,  saying:  Let  there 
be  universal  brotherhood. 

And  the  rebellious  saint  cries  out 
in  the  name  of  the  Lord:  Let  there  be 
an  end  of  nations. 

When  the  calf  of  gold  is  set  up  and 
called  Lord ,  the  Lord  oj  the  nations , 

[  io] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Who  brought  us  up  out  of  barbarism 
and  bought  for  us  airships  and  tun¬ 
nels,  the  earth  and  all  that  lives  thereon! 

Then  they  that  know  the  Lord 
truly  and  love  him,  hide  their  love 
as  a  treasure,  shamefacedly,  se¬ 
cretly,  even  as  a  young  girl  hides  her 
love  for  her  lover. 

Or  they  cry  out  against  the  wor¬ 
shippers  who  call,  God,  God,  before 
the  idols  made  by  man. 

For  though  the  fool  says  in  his 
heart,  there  is  no  God, 

Yet  even  the  wise  man  who  knows 
God  in  his  heart  denies  him  with  his 
lips. 

So  that  those  who  love  God  most, 
deny  him, 


[ii] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


And  those  who  serve  God  best, 
rail  against  his  name. 

We  reason  and  argue  like  children 
who  have  seen  the  right  and  rejected 
it, 

Asking  our  Father  for  proofs  when 
the  proof  is  writ  on  our  hearts. 

Is  God  a  personal  God,  is  he  the 
God  of  Jew  or  Christian  or  Buddhist? 

The  God  of  Darwin  or  IngersoII, 
of  this  church  or  of  that  congrega¬ 
tion? 

It  is  not  necessary  to  define  him, 
but  only  to  accept  him, 

To  listen  and  obey, 

To  open  our  eyes  and  see. 

For  he  speaks. 

[12I 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

He  is  the  inmost  and  he  is  the  ut¬ 
most. 

His  name  is  not  a  figure  of  speech. 

Be  still.  Cease  your  disputing. 
Listen  to  the  voice  of  God  speaking 
within  you.  Close  your  eyes.  See 
no  more  spectacles  and  machine  pic¬ 
tures.  See  the  light  of  God  flaming 
within  your  heart. 

Then  speak  of  necessity. 

Is  it  even  necessary  to  eat  bread? 
No,  you  can  starve.  Life  in  itself  is 
not  necessary. 

Man  does  not  live  by  bread  alone, 
but  by  every  word  that  proceedeth 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Lord. 

Nothing  else  is  necessary. 

God  alone  is  necessary. 

Without  God  nothing  exists. 

[  r3l 


II 


WHO  shall  hear  the  voice  of  the 
Lord  and  live? 

Yet  who  has  not  heard  the  voice 
of  the  Lord? 

Behold,  the  Lord  passes  by. 

And  a  great  and  strong  wind  rends 
the  mountains  and  breaks  in  pieces 
the  rocks.  But  the  Lord  is  not  in 
the  wind;  and  after  the  wind,  an 
earthquake,  but  the  Lord  is  not  in 
the  earthquake;  and  after  the  earth¬ 
quake  a  fire,  but  the  Lord  is  not  in 
the  fire.  And  after  the  fire,  a  still 
small  voice. 

[14] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Who  shall  repeat  the  words  of 
the  wind? 

Or  who  can  tell  the  speech  of  the 
earthquake? 

Or  who  may  deliver  the  message 
of  a  roaring  fire? 

But  the  still,  small  voice  must  be 
obeyed. 

* 

The  Lord  spoke  to  me,  saying: 

I  shall  destroy  the  nations. 

A  messenger  of  the  Lord  found  me 
at  night. 

I  was  thinking  of  little  things,  busy 
with  the  necessities  of  life. 

He  laid  his  hand  upon  me,  saying: 
The  Lord  speaks. 

And  my  inmost  parts  quailed  with 

[15] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

awe  and  wonder,  and  I  bowed  down 
and  fell  upon  my  face. 

Then  he  said :  Arise,  the  Lord  calls 
for  a  messenger. 

I  answered  and  said:  Let  him  speak 
that  can.  I  have  no  strength ,  I  have 
no  voice ,  I  am  all  weakness ,  all  defect 
from  head  to  foot.  None  knows  me , 
none  hearkens  to  me.  How  shall  I 
stand  before  the  Lord ,  who  have  not 
stood  even  before  the  great  men  of  earth? 

He  replied:  Every  worm  stands 
before  God.  No  grain  of  dust  es¬ 
capes  his  majesty.  Arise! 

And  I  rose  trembling. 

Then  he  said:  These  things  will  I 
lay  upon  thy  heart,  and  the  burden 

[  16] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

of  them  shalt  thou  bear  and  deliver 
according  to  the  strength  that  the 
Lord  shall  give  into  thy  hands. 

And  I  answered :  My  hands  are  not 
clean  or  Jit  for  this  service .  For  I  have 
labored  in  the  dust  and  served  as  a 
menial  digging  my  nails  deep .  How 
shall  I  bear  the  Lord's  charge  who  have 
touched  all  manner  of  filth? 

Then  he  said :  Show  me  thy  hands. 

And  I  stretched  forth  my  hands  to 
him  with  open  palms. 

Then  he  took  the  flaming  brand 
that  he  carried  and  he  swept  it  for¬ 
ward  striking  my  two  hands,  and  he 
seared  away  their  impurities  with 
fire. 

Now,  he  said,  give  me  thy  heart. 

[i7l 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

And  I  replied:  How  unfit  is  my 
heart  that  the  Lord’s  messenger  should 
touch  it!  It  is  a  human  heart  throb - 
hing  with  necessities .  It  has  denied 
God.  It  has  despised  lije.  It  has 
hated  with  a  murderous  hate  full  of 
laughter  and  derision ,  and  it  has  loved 
with  a  love  defying  God  and  man. 

Give  me  thy  heart,  he  said. 

How  can  I  give  that  which  is  my 
whole  life?  How  can  I  give  that  which 
is  all  I  possess? 

Then  he  said :  Give  me  thy  heart. 

And  I  replied:  Take  it. 

He  put  forth  his  hand  and  drew 
my  heart  from  my  breast  and  crushed 
it  between  his  palms.  • 

Then  he  sprinkled  its  blood  abroad 
[18] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

with  his  fingers  upon  every  nation  of 
the  earth. 

And  he  said,  Behold,  thy  debt  is 
paid,  thy  heart  is  purified.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  the  greatness  of  thy  passion, 
so  shall  be  the  measure  of  thy  sacri¬ 
fice.  Now  I  will  give  thee  a  new 
heart. 

And  he  laid  his  hand  within  my 
breast  and  gave  me  a  new  heart. 
And,  behold,  it  was  the  same  heart 
which  he  had  taken  from  me.  It  was 
the  human  heart. 

Then  I  said :  What  shall  I  do? 

And  he  answered :  Thou  shalt  love 
the  Lord  thy  God  with  all  thy  heart 
and  with  all  thy  soul  and  with  all 
thy  might. 

[  19] 


Ill 


T  SAID:  Is  the  Lord  a  man  that  he 
should  repent? 

And  the  messenger  answered  me, 
saying : 

The  Lord  changes  not.  When 
man  errs,  God  repents,  and  his  re¬ 
pentance  is  man’s  penitence.  What 
God  creates  destroys  and  recreates 
itself  in  endless  upward  strivings. 

The  Lord  says:  The  will  of  man 
may  choose  the  way,  but  the  end  is 
mine. 

I  go  my  way,  be  with  me  or  against 
me. 

I  create  the  maker  of  laws  and  the 

[20] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

breaker  of  laws,  and  both  sides  of 
the  struggle  serve  my  purpose. 

Through  the  deeds  of  man  I  reveal 
myself  to  man,  and  through  the 
agonies  of  nations  the  nations  learn 
my  way. 

For  all  punishment  is  adjustment* 
pain  is  a  warning  and  terror  is  a 
light  to  point  the  way. 

And  I  cried  out:  0  Lord,  why 
didst  thou  create  man  with  a  will 
for  error? 

Then  the  messenger  replied :  With 
the  first  worm  was  man  created,  who 
must  climb  his  way  to  wisdom.  He 
that  is  free  is  free  to  choose  suffer¬ 
ing. 


[21] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Wherefore ,  I  cried,  wherefore  was 
man  not  created  perfect? 

And  the  messenger  replied :  I  came 
to  man  at  the  Beginning,  bearing 
two  gifts  from  God,  and  I  said,  O 
man,  choose  which  gift  thou  wilt 
have.  The  one  gift  is  perfection  and 
the  other  gift  is  freedom. 

And  man  replied:  Give  me  free¬ 
dom;  for  with  perfection  I  should 
never  attain  freedom,  but  with  free¬ 
dom  I  can  win  my  way  to  perfection. 

Therefore  is  man  free  to  err,  but 
the  ways  of  God  are  changeless. 

Man’s  adventure  is  to  find  the  way. 

Therefore,  behold,  the  Lord  searches 
for  a  prophet,  and  scans  the  world 

for  messengers  to  call  man  back  to 
[22] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

the  path  from  which  he  has  turned 
away  in  his  careless  haste. 

And  therefore  the  Lord  saith:  I 
shall  destroy  the  nations. 


IV 


T  SAHLL  destroy  the  nations  with 
their  own  weapons,  saith  the  Lord. 
I  shall  set  them  upon  one  another 
because  they  have  hated  one  another. 
And  each  will  cry  out:  I  have  been 
attacked,  I  am  innocent. 

Because  they  have  pretended  in¬ 
nocence  when  their  hands  and  bowels 
were  full  of  blood,  and  because  they 
have  called  upon  my  name  in  vain, 
using  it  for  war  and  conquest  and 
oppression. 

This  is  the  day,  saith  the  Lord, 

which  I  have  made.  Now  is  the 

day  of  judgment.  It  is  here,  and 
[24] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

you  know  it  not.  I  am  here  among 

you,  consuming  you,  and  you  see  me 
not. 

O  blind!  When  I  am  in  your 
midst,  you  deny  me. 

My  light  has  struck  you  blind. 
Who  shall  destroy?  Who  is  the 
terrible  slayer? 

Is  it  not  the  submarine  that  you 
have  made?  Is  it  not  the  airship 
with  its  bomb? 

Are  you  waiting  for  a  sign?  Must 
I  write  upon  the  heavens  that  you 

may  see  me?  Do  you  need  a  mir¬ 
acle? 

Shall  I  rival  the  submarine  for 
ingenuity  and  the  wireless  for  speed? 

[25] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Have  not  I  put  these  things  into 
man’s  heart,  these  devices  into  his 
brain? 

All  my  miracles  are  wrought  in  the 
hearts  of  men. 

And  the  will  of  man  reaps  only 
the  children  of  his  desire. 

The  voice  of  the  people  is  the  voice 
of  God. 

And  the  people  arise  and  say : 
There  shall  be  no  more  nations. 

Tor  I  appointed  nations  as  brother¬ 
hoods  for  the  families  of  the  earth, 
that  they  might  live  in  peace  and 
conquer  the  earth  for  mankind;  that 
they  might  learn  each  the  wisdom 

of  its  lands  and  waters,  and  struggle 

[26] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

for  victory  over  disorder  and  calam¬ 
ity;  that  they  might  teach  and  re¬ 
prove  one  another  as  brothers  in  a 
tent. 

But  they  have  lived  in  fear  and 
conquered  the  earth  to  despoil  it, 
and  learned  from  its  lands  and  waters 
only  to  remove  boundaries  and  raise 
up  walls;  and  they  have  struggled 
in  blood  only  for  victory  over  one 
another  and  they  have  taught  one 
another  only  the  tricks  of  oppression, 
how  best  to  rob  the  laborer  of  his 
hire  and  to  sweat  children  for  a  crust 
of  bread. 

Have  I  not  seen  their  cities  and 
their  high  towers?  The  stones  of 

[27] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

their  pillars  dripped  blood.  I  saw 
the  blood  ooze  from  between  the 
blocks  of  marble.  And  I  said,  is  this 
the  blood  of  those  who  have  given 
their  lives  for  a  great  labor?  Is  this 
the  holy  sacrifice  of  those  who  would 
build  a  house  to  God? 

But  no,  I  beheld,  and  those  who 
devised  to  build  the  house  sat  at  ease 
and  in  comfort,  and  the  slaves  whose 
blood  dripped  from  between  the 
stones  cared  nothing  for  the  build¬ 
ing,  nor  for  ought  but  their  bellies. 
They  had  given  their  lives  for  a  crust 
of  bread. 

Then  I  said:  Go  to,  it  is  better  to 
die  on  the  battlefield  for  a  crust  of 

[28]: 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

bread — driven,  without  hate,  with¬ 
out  heroism,  without  purpose — than 
to  be  crushed  for  bread  between  the 
marble  blocks  of  a  magnificent  build¬ 
ing. 

Raze  your  buildings  with  shot  and 
shell.  Cleanse  the  world  with  fire. 
It  is  better  to  sin  openly  than  in 
secret.  And  every  inward  sore  shall 
burst  and  run  stinking  issue. 

I  shall  destroy  the  nations  by  their 
own  hands. 

And  I  shall  give  them  as  a  heritage 
into  the  hands  of  those  they  op¬ 
pressed,  of  their  own  people.  And 
all  the  peoples  of  all  the  nations  shall 
form  one  brotherhood  without  bounds 

[29] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

aries.  All  the  fences  shall  fall  and 
all  the  treasure-houses  open  their 
gates.  And  all  shall  be  fed  on  the 
fat  of  the  land.  None  shall  die  in 
the  quest  for  bread.  None  shall  die 
in  another’s  battle,  and  there  will  be 
no  more  war.  Nation  shall  not  rival 
nation  in  commerce,  for  there  will  be 
no  more  nations,  and  every  port  will 
belong  to  every  merchant.  Nation 
will  not  hate  nation,  for  there  will  be 
no  more  nations.  Kings  will  not  rule, 
but  only  assemblies  and  committees 
of  people,  for  the  sake  of  comfort  and 
well-being.  Languages  will  disap¬ 
pear,  and  speech  and  knowledge  be¬ 
come  simple,  for  all  will  have  one 
speech  and  one  knowledge  sufficient 
[30] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

for  their  needs.  And  there  will  be 
no  more  upper  and  no  more  lower 
classes,  for  all  will  be  equal  in  having 
bread. 

Necessity  will  be  satisfied. 

And  justice  will  become  easy. 

And  the  good  men  who  hate  injus¬ 
tice  will  be  satisfied.  For  I  have 
put  it  into  their  hearts  to  say:  The 
nations  must  disappear . 

And  they  that  have  banded  to¬ 
gether  for  the  right  of  bread  will 
be  satisfied.  For  they  proclaim : 

Man  lives  by  bread  alone. 

And  there  will  be  enough  for  all, 
and  all  shall  eat  and  be  satisfied. 


V 


MY  beautiful  children,  saith  the 

Lord,  whom  I  have  doomed  to 

death ! 

O  France,  the  mother  of  liberty  and 
song, 

Thy  white  hands  are  polluted  with 
blood 

And  thy  voice  is  hoarse  with  shouting. 

Remember  France  and  her  orgy  of 
slaying, 

And  how  freedom  was  turned  to 
tyranny 

Because  of  the  sin  of  the  sword. 

Die,  France,  the  slim  and  beautiful! 

1 3*] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

O  Germania,  my  proud  daughter. 
Free-stepping  and  majestic, 

Whither  has  thy  strength  carried 

thee? 

Thy  shield  has  been  used  to  batter 
and  beat, 

Thou  hast  turned  hussy, 

And  thine  honest  blue  eyes  have  been 
darkened  toward  the  east 
With  lies  and  intrigue  to  snatch  the 
little  liberty  of  slaves. 

O  Germania,  break  thy  shield, 

Pull  down  thy  helmet  over  thy  brave 
blue  eyes; 

Thou  must  die! 


O  Albion,  thou  blundering,  beautiful 

boy, 

1 33l 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


Why  hast  thou  grown  gluttonous 
waxing  fat? 

Will  thy  small  boat  in  the  north  still 
hold  the  weight  of  thee? 

Thou  dreamest  holy  dreams  under 
the  polar  star, 

Yet  thy  feet  kick  in  the  sleep  of 
satiety. 

Repent,  repent!  Hast  thou  grown 
too  stupid  for  penitence? 

A  thorn  is  in  his  heart  at  the  side  of 
the  north; 

He  must  pull  it  out,  or  he  will  perish 
in  the  pride  of  victory; 

All  the  brine  of  the  seas  cannot  heal 
his  hurt. 

What  has  he  done,  foolish  boy? 

He  has  stolen  my  holy  apples  from 
’  the  sacred  gardens  of  India, 

[34] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

He  that  loves  freedom  has  tied  the 
soft  hands  of  Persia; 

He  that  prates  of  freedom  knows  not 
his  brother’s  tongue; 

He  must  die  in  the  strength  of  his 
youth. 

And  all  his  children,  far  flung,  preach¬ 
ing  liberty, 

Opening  their  arms  to  the  oppressed 
and  thejiriven, 

How  have  they  too  sinned  with  the 
sin  of  arrogance ! 

What  is  this  hypocrisy,  this  fine 
speaking  and  foul  doing? 

Wide  winged  spirit  of  freedom,  beau¬ 
tiful  strong  angel,  hast  thou  be¬ 
come  a  vulture? 

Where  are  my  far  Pacific  isles? 

[3  5] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


Wilt  thou  make  my  name  a  sceptre 
for  tyranny, 

Enslave  in  the  name  of  freedom,  and 
shed  blood  in  the  name  of  peace? 

0  thou  fearless  angel,  thou  shalt  be 
stricken  down. 

O  my  children  of  the  east,  how  has 
the  poison  entered  your  veins, 

Beauty  and  quietness,  how  are  you 
rudely  awakened  with  the  roar  of 
machines ! 

Turkey,  forth,  show  them  the  sin 
they  would  escape, 

Turkey,  the  scape-goat  of  Europe 
sent  forth  into  Asia’s  wilderness! 

Thou  shalt  not  go  alone! 

All  the  nations  are  lost,  grappling 
[36] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

one  another’s  throats  to  the  death ; 

Each  one  of  them  is  attacked,  they 
attack  one  another; 

And  the  people  of  the  earth  shall  take 
possession  of  the  earth. 

Farewell,  O  beauty,  thou  wert  the 
dress  of  my  children. 

Music,  be  still;  marble,  crumble  to 
dust; 

Let  there  be  no  more  pictures — for 
every  picture  shows  a  nation’s  soul— 

Let  there  be  no  more  dramas — for 
dramas  are  histories  speaking  a 
nation’s  hope. 

Dress  in  black,  dress  in  the  garb  of 


mourning, 


[37l 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

O  you  little  worms  of  humanity. 

Put  on  no  more  gay  apparel; 

Sing  no  songs. 

For  your  songs  are  vile  and  personal; 
they  sicken  me, 

They  tell  the  disease  of  the  heart  and 
the  pain  of  the  head. 

They  are  all  alike  and  all  out  of  tune. 

Wave  no  more  flags,  set  up  no  gay 
standards, 

But  only  the  red  flag; 

For  this  is  the  symbol  of  blood,  that 
all  flags  have  become  alike  and 
red  because  all  were  dipped  in  the 
blood  of  slaughter. 

Speak  no  more  divers  tongues,  but 
make  you  a  new  tongue,  wholly  new . 
[38] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

For  which  of  the  old  wo  uld  you  choose 
Whether  there  be  seven  or  seventy? 
The  great  shall  not  master  the  small 
nor  the  many  the  few : 

Two  million  or  two  hundred  million 
have  equal  right  to  their  tongue. 
German  and  English  and  French  and 
Arabic,  world-wide  speeches, 

Shall  no  more  dominate  than  Polish 
or  Flemish  or  Welsh. 

O  divers  speech,  thou  music  of  the 
nation’s  soul, 

Be  silent. 

Cease  traveling,  thou  traveler,  save 
for  the  quest  of  bread, 

For  what  will  there  be  to  see  and 
what  to  learn? 


[39] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


Diversity  of  mountains  and  deserts 
and  seas  and  rivers  and  valleys, 

But  no  diversity  of  mankind. 

Internationalism  will  cease  for  there 
will  be  no  more  nations. 

And  there  will  be  no  more  cosmopoli¬ 
tanism, 

But  every  town  will  be  like  every  other 
and  all  the  world  provincial. 

In  Peking  and  Bagdad,  in  Paris  and 
Los  Angeles,  everyone  will  wear 
black. 

I  shall  hide  my  face  from  man  forever 
and  ever; 

They  shall  no  more  see  me,  neither 
in  shrines  nor  on  the  mountains’ ' 

height; 

[40] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

There  will  be  no  more  worship. 

For  I  made  nations,  I  made  assem¬ 
blies  to  worship. 

Save  a  man  give  himself,  he  is  not 
worth  having, 

And  man  reaches  to  me  through  the 
congregation  of  his  people, 

In  the  love  of  his  fatherland; 

And  nation  to  nation  cries  aloud  my 
name. 

But  when  the  nations  perish  my  name 
will  perish  from  earth; 

Worship  reveals  a  nation’s  soul. 

All  folk  ways  will  be  forgotten, 

All  simple  songs  will  be  forgotten, 

Singers  shall  cease. 

[41] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

■is/mt,-? 

But  yet  there  will  be  no  more  op¬ 
pression; 

Though  heroes  and  prophets  and 
poets  disappear,  yet  will  there  be 
no  more  robbers  and  murderers; 

Though  all  men  be  as  sheep,  yet 
there  will  be  no  more  lions. 

O  my  lion,  canst  thou  not  be  tamed  ? 


[42] 


VI 


HEN  the  Lord  assembled  his 


prophets,  and  sent  them  forth  to 
prophesy  the  death  of  nations,  that 
the  nations  might  repent. 

He  sent  them  forth  to  rail  from 
the  street  corners,  he  set  them  at 
the  side  of  princes,  he  put  into  their 
hearts  the  hate  of  tyranny,  and  into 
their  hands  the  red  flag  for  a  sign. 

And  they  were  thrown  into  prison, 
to  taste  the  dregs  of  hidden  cruelty. 

And  they  were  called  out  from 
the  factory,  to  cry  aloud  the  secrets 
of  wealthy  man-stealers. 

They  stood  on  barrels  at  street 


[43] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

corners,  prophesying  to  the  passers- 
by. 

They  rode  in  freight  cars  from  city 
to  city,  speaking  the  word  of  the 
Lord. 

And  they  said : 

The  nations  shall  perish . 


[44] 


VII 


HPHEN  I  remembered  the  promise 
A  which  the  Lord  had  made  to 
my  people  of  old  time,  through  our 
fathers,  Abraham,  Isaac  and  Jacob, 
and  which  he  repeated  by  the  mouth 
of  his  prophets,  saying: 

Look  now  toward  heaven ,  and  count 
the  stars ,  if  thou  be  able  to  count  them . 
So  shall  thy  seed  be. 

And  I  will  make  thee  a  great  nation, 
and  in  thee  shall  all  the  families  of  the 
earth  be  blessed. 

And  I  will  give  unto  thee,  and  to  thy 
seed  after  thee,  the  land  of  thy  sojourn - 
ings ,  all  the  land  of  Canaan,  for  an 
everlasting  possession. 


[45] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

And  ye  shall  he  unto  me  a  kingdom 
of  priests  and  a  holy  nation . 

And  you  shall  no  more  be  a  prey  to 
the  nations ,  but  you  shall  dwell  safely 
and  none  shall  make  you  afraid , 
neither  shall  you  bear  the  shame  of  the 
nations  any  more . 

Behold ,  I  will  take  the  children  of 
Israel  from  among  the  nations  whither 
they  are  gone ,  and  will  gather  them  on 
every  side,  and  bring  them  into  their 
own  land;  and  I  will  make  them  one 
nation  in  the  land,  upon  the  mountains 
of  Israel . 

And  they  shall  know  that  I  the  Lord 
their  God  am  with  them,  and  that  they, 
the  house  of  Israel,  are  my  people, 
saith  the  Lord . 

[46] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

For  my  house  shall  be  called  a  house 
of  prayer  for  all  peoples ,  saith  the 
Lord,  who  gathereth  the  dispersed  of 
Israel. 

I  said:  0  Lord,  for  Zion  s  sake  will 
I  not  hold  my  peace, 

And  for  Jerusalem9 s  sake  I  will  not 

rest. 

Hast  thou  forgotten  thy  people  Israel? 

Didst  thou  not  promise?  Wilt  thou 
not  fulfil? 

And  the  Lord  answered  me:  Who 
is  more  zealous  than  the  Lord?  Who 
speaks  save  the  Lord  put  words  into 
his  heart?  I  have  not  forgotten,  but 
my  people  has  forgotten. 


[47] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Then  I  hid  my  face  in  the  dust  of 
the  road,  and  I  raised  not  my  hands 
in  any  prayer,  but  still  for  Zion’s 
sake  could  I  not  keep  silent. 

And  I  said:  0  Lord ,  how  dare  I  to 
stand  before  the  glory  of  thy  majesty? 

Thy  wrath  consumes  me  and  thy 
purpose  rides  over  me,  who  am  but 
dust. 

Yet  must  I  speak,  for  I  have  not 
forgotten . 

For  this  was  I  created — with  this  I 
perish. 

And  the  Lord  said :  What  is  in  thy 
heart? 


I  said:  Thou  hast  chosen  a  nation 

[48] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

to  know  thy  law  and  to  redeem  the 
nations.  When  Europe  nourished 
hordes  of  barbarous  tribes,  when  Asia 
walled  itself  apart  from  all  thy  peoples , 
when  Egypt  only  dreamed  of  conquest 
and  Babylonia  of  world  dominion, 
thou  didst  set  aside  a  little  people,  and 
thou  didst  say:  This  nation  shall  en¬ 
dure  forever  as  a  surety  for  the  life  of 
nations.  It  shall  be  my  redeemer  to 
the  nations  of  the  world,  until  swords 
shall  be  beaten  into  plowshares  and  the 
strong  nation  shall  deal  justly  with  the 
weak,  as  the  lion  grazing  beside  the  kid, 
and  all  the  nations  of  man  shall  be  a 
brotherhood  to  walk  in  the  way  of  the 
Lord. 

Yet  now  wouldst  thou  destroy  all 

[49] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


nations ,  and  thine  own  servant  hast 
thou  not  mentioned  nor  called  by  name. 

O  my  servant,  saith  the  Lord, 
where  art  thou? 

I  have  called  thee  by  name  but 
thou  hast  not  answered  me. 

Thou  art  no  servant,  nor  a  right¬ 
eous  son,  but  thou  art  a  spoilt  child 
calling  aloud  for  favors. 

Is  the  night  come  that  you  cry 
for  wages?  Must  you  be  paid  in 
advance,  must  the  Lord  give  you  a 
pledge?  Have  I  forgotten  my  prom¬ 
ise?  No,  but  I  remember  my  covenant. 

For  this  moment  have  I  preserved 
you,  for  this  day  I  held  you  in  the 
hollow  of  my  hand. 

bo] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

I  said  to  you :  My  people. 

I  gave  you  the  law  of  righteousness 
as  a  treasure  for  the  nations.  I  made 
you  a  spectacle  of  justice,  blessing 
you  with  swift  punishment.  I  scat¬ 
tered  you  among  all  the  peoples  and 
kept  you  against  this  day  of  judg¬ 
ment. 

Now,  come,  saith  the  Lord,  arise, 
into  your  land!  For  I  have  kept 
your  land  a  waste  and  a  wilderness 
unto  the  day  of  your  replanting. 

I  call,  and  you  answer  me. 

You  say:  We  cannot  go,  save  God 
give  us  a  bridge  of  glass.  Prove  to  us 
that  thou  art  indeed  the  Lord.  Show 
us  a  miracle.  Take  us  unresisting 
with  limp  hands  and  feet. 

1 51] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

You  say:  God  has  freed  us  at  last 
from  whips  and  scourges .  Our  mas¬ 
ters  give  us  rest.  Now  will  we  be  good 
slaves.  Now  will  we  become  a  light 
among  the  nations ,  a  soft  diffused  light, 
not  burning  with  too  fierce  a  flame. 
Why  should  we  go  into  a  land  that  is 
waste?  Our  lot  is  good  where  God  has 
set  us  down.  We  shine  with  the 
brightness  of  much  gold.  We  will  not 
move. 

Yet  for  this  have  I  given  you  free¬ 
dom,  that  you  should  arise  and  come! 

Therefore  shall  you  be  consumed 
in  all  the  nations  and  melted  in  the 
melting  pot  of  my  wrath. 

O  signet  ring  of  the  kingdom  of 
[52] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

righteousness,  O  seal  that  bears  my 
name,  so  ends  the  hope  of  nations,  my 
covenant  with  humanity. 

I  have  sent  my  messengers  but  you 
have  denied  them.  This  is  the  day 

for  which  I  made  you:  I  search  the 
world  in  vain. 

Then  I  said:  0  Lord ,  I  am  here , 
take  me.  Remember  my  people9 s  faith¬ 
fulness.  Hast  thou  not  afflicted  them , 
hast  thou  not  scourged  them  sore?  If 
they  are  too  heavy  to  move ,  is  it  not  with 
sores  and  sickness?  If  they  are  weary, 
is  it  not  with  service,  with  keeping  thy 
feasts  and  thy  fasts? 

Have  I  asked  this  at  your  hands, 

[53] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

saith  the  Lord,  that  you  pray  thrice 
daily  for  the  fulfilment  of  my  prom¬ 
ise?  That  you  pray  to  go  upright 
into  your  land,  yet  ye  walk  not  up¬ 
right?  That  ye  pray  with  your  lips 
and  deny  with  your  lips,  saying, 
May  it  come  to  pass  for  our  children  s 
children  s  children! 

Behold,  in  the  day  of  your  fast 
you  pursue  your  business  and  exact 
all  your  labors.  You  strive  with 
your  tradesmen  and  creditors  to 
make  all  things  easy  and  habitual. 
And  you  close  your  door  to  the 
stranger.  You  make  of  your  feasting 
and  fasting  a  laborious  excuse  for 
indifference.  Yet  do  you  strive  for 
the  word  of  the  Lord?  Do  you  cry 

[54] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

aloud  the  message  of  Israel’s  Sab¬ 
bath?  Do  you  say:  This  is  for  rest  to 
the  laborer ,  for  wages  to  the  worker? 

Do  you  fast  that  your  people  may 
be  fed?  Do  you  confess  the  sin  of 
forgetfulness?  Do  you  turn  your 
hearts  to  the  east,  to  the  sunrising 
of  righteousness  over  Zion — or  your 
eyes  only? 

Is  such  the  fast  that  I  have 
chosen? 

Is  this  a  Passover  to  me,  saith  the 
Lord,  that  you  eat  unleavened  bread 
well-baked  with  abundance  of  meats 
and  fruits? 

Is  it  for  a  feast  that  I  have  ap¬ 
pointed  the  Passover? 


[55] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Do  you  not  say,  Go  to ,  we  will  read 
from  a  quaint  book 

A  literary  curiosity ,  a  pleasing 
antiquity? 

Or  are  you  but  the  slaves  of  ancient 
habit? 

Where  have  you  set  Elijah’s  cup 
of  wine? 

Have  you  left  a  place  for  my  people 
at  your  table? 

Have  you  sung  psalms  of  liberty,  hal¬ 
lelujahs  of  thanksgiving  for  freedom? 

Have  you  girded  your  loins  for  the 
journey,  when  you  say:  Next  year  in 
Jerusalem! 

Have  you  cleansed  your  hearts  of 
levity?  Are  your  souls  prepared  for 
the  Passover? 

[56] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Are  you  free,  are  you  free  in  spirit, 
with  the  hope  of  a  redeemed  nation? 

Are  you  purified  for  the  return,  for 
this  day  when  I  sound  my  trumpet? 

Then  come! 

But  no,  you  are  slaves,  slaves  whis¬ 
pering  fearfully  of  your  ancient  free¬ 
dom.  You  modify  and  conform. 
You  deceive  yourselves  without  de¬ 
ceiving  your  masters. 

Scrape  off  ten  times  the  crumbs  of 
bread,  put  four  layers  of  straw  on 
your  tables.  Do  not  forget  the  last 
jot  of  the  law;  make  new  laws  to 
bind  your  hands  and  your  feet  from 
moving. 

Be  more  pious  than  the  Lord  that 

[57] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

made  you.  So  may  you  escape  the 
fury  of  his  word. 

But  the  Lord  has  said :  Let  the  op¬ 
pressed  go  free. 

In  whatsoever  land  my  people  are 
not  slaves,  they  have  sold  themselves 
for  slaves. 

They  have  sold  my  name  to  the 
Gentiles.  They  are  content  to  bor¬ 
row  the  tarnished  gold  of  my  treasure 
lent  by  them  in  old  time. 

Must  you  either  embalm  my  law 
or  cast  it  upon  the  dung  heap? 

But  my  law  is  not  dead. 

My  law  is  life,  it  is  the  life  of  life. 

It  is  that  whereby  men  live,  and 
I  gave  it  to  you  for  a  trust. 

But  you  are  no  longer  men,  you 

[58] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

no  longer  live.  You  borrow  my  law 
from  those  who  borrowed  it  of  you. 

Your  children  are  circumcised  be¬ 
cause  science,  the  Lord  your  God, 
commanded  it. 

And  you  eat  not  forbidden  food 
because  the  physician  forbade  it. 

But  what  is  science  save  the  knowl¬ 
edge  of  my  law? 

And  who  but  I  taught  the  physi¬ 
cian  to  heal? 

You  make  no  mention  of  Zion  lest 
the  Gentiles  misunderstand.  And 
your  hearts  are  as  dumb  as  your  lips. 
Your  hearts  have  been  sold. 

And  when  I  send  you  a  messenger, 
you  deny  him. 

Save  the  Gentiles  first  acclaim  him, 
you  are  dumb. 

[59] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

But  still  you  say:  We  are  mission¬ 
aries ,  we  are  messengers  of  the  One  God 
to  the  Gentiles. 

But  I  say:  You  are  false  prophets 
speaking  what  is  good  for  your  health 
and  your  purse. 

You  mimic  the  mimickers  among 
the  Gentiles  and  say:  This  is  a  mes¬ 
sage  from  the  Lord  our  God. 

Yet  I  have  sent  you  a  messenger, 
I  have  spoken  very  clearly. 

Not  a  thousand  years,  not  a  hun¬ 
dred  years  ago.  I  sent  him  yester¬ 
day. 

Woe  to  my  people,  woe  to  all  the 
nations  for  the  sake  of  Israel,  my 
son,  my  servant  that  would  not  hear. 

Because  you  would  not  do  my 

[60] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

commandments,  but  broke  my  cove¬ 
nant,  I  have  also  done  this  unto  you : 

I  appointed  terror  over  you,  even 
persecution  and  destruction,  that 
made  the  eyes  to  fail  and  the  soul  to 
languish.  You  sowed  your  seed  in 
vain  and  your  enemies  have  eaten  it. 
And  I  set  my  face  against  you  and 
you  were  smitten  before  your  ene¬ 
mies. 

They  that  hated  you  ruled  over 
you,  and  you  have  fled  when  there 
was  none  to  pursue. 

I  have  brought  your  land  into  deso¬ 
lation,  and  your  enemies  that  dwell 
therein  have  been  astonished  at  it. 

And  I  scattered  you  among  the 
nations,  and  I  drew  out  the  sword 

[61] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

after  you  to  destroy  you,  and  your 
land  alone  is  free  to  keep  her  Sab¬ 
baths  in  peace,  one  long  Sabbath  of 
silentness  and  waste  in  the  hands  of 
her  foes  even  until  you  return. 

And  as  for  them  that  are  left  of 
you,  I  have  sent  a  faintness  into 
their  heart  in  the  lands  of  their  wan¬ 
derings,  and  the  sound  of  a  driven 
leaf  frightens  and  chases  them,  and 
they  flee  as  one  fleeth  from  an  army. 
They  surrender  when  none  pursueth, 
and  when  their  enemies  cease  to  ac¬ 
cuse  them,  they  accuse  one  another. 

The  hearts  of  brothers  are  turned 
against  one  another.  Jew  says  to 
Jew: 

You  are  unclean .  Touch  me  not , 

[62] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

lest  I  be  defiled .  Leave  me,  lest  the 
Gentile  spurn  me  for  your  sake . 

You  say:  I  have  bought  freedom. 
Leave  me  alone. 

Yet  the  freedom  you  have  bought 
is  slavery.  The  gold  you  paid  was 
your  souls. 

You  patronize  and  soothe  the  Jew 
driven  to  you  from  other  lands.  You 
think  by  much  charity  you  can 
shame  him  and  glorify  yourselves. 

Hence  you  say:  The  Jews  are  not 
a  nation.  They  are  a  charitable  so¬ 
ciety. 

And  of  your  people’s  sorrow  you 
have  made  for  yourself  a  halo  wrought 
of  your  gold  pieces. 

This  is  not  the  crown  I  give. 

[63] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

You  have  paid  your  rabbis  to  teach 
whatever  it  is  convenient  to  hear. 

You  have  bought  the  teacher  that 
was  free-spirited,  because  all  the 
children  he  taught  are  in  the  hollow 
of  your  hand.  You  have  paid  for 
them. 

You  have  turned  the  hearts  of  the 
children  against  the  fathers,  and  the 
hearts  of  the  fathers  against  the 
children. 

You  choose  the  Sabbath  day  for 
paying  wages. 

You  make  slaves  of  your  own 
people,  of  whom  I  have  said,  they 
shall  not  be  slaves. 

To  what  purpose  is  the  multitude 
of  your  charities  unto  me? 

1 64] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

I  am  full  of  your  alms-giving,  of 
your  outworn  garments  and  your 
bags  of  rubbish. 

Long  enough  have  I  fed  the  poor 
of  my  people  on  the  crumbs  from 
your  tables. 

When  you  come  to  appear  before 
me,  who  hath  required  this  at  your 
hands,  that  you  cleanse  your  souls 
by  relieving  your  purses  of  their  gold 
for  charity? 

Is  this  your  Sabbath  whereon  you 
gather  in  a  house  to  pray  and  call  it 
by  the  name  of  my  desolate  Temple? 

But  I  hear  the  whirring  and  rasp¬ 
ing  of  your  factory  wheels.  I  see 
the  smoke  of  their  chimneys  rise  as 
incense  on  the  Sabbath. 


[65] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


Your  fasts  and  your  prayers  my 
soul  hateth. 

They  are  a  burden  unto  me. 

I  am  weary  to  bear  them. 

Therefore  have  I  made  your  slaves 
to  rebel  against  you, 

And  the  hunger  of  your  people 
have  I  increased  a  hundredfold; 

All  the  bread  of  your  tables  cannot 
feed  them  now. 

For  in  my  language  there  is  no 
word  for  charity. 

But  there  is  a  word  for  justice,  and 
this  I  commanded. 

I  said,  Return,  return  as  a  whole 
people,  as  a  free  nation,  come,  ap¬ 
pear  before  me. 

Yet  you  hid  your  face. 

[66] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Therefore  are  you  consumed  among 
the  nations,  and  the  land  of  strangers 
has  utterly  absorbed  you.  I  turn 
my  face  from  you,  and  you  forget  to 
cry  unto  me.  The  children  excuse 
themselves  because  of  the  sins  of 
their  fathers.  Yes,  they  say,  our 
fathers  forgot  the  Lord.  And  this  is 
the  bitterest  portion  of  your  lot, 
O  servant  of  the  Lord,  O  prince  of 
Israel,  that  not  only  have  you  lost 
your  high  estate,  but  you  have  for¬ 
gotten  your  high  estate. 

But  I  have  not  forgotten  my  cove¬ 
nant,  saith  the  Lord. 

That  which  I  said  has  come  to 
pass. 


[67] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Then  the  messenger  of  the  Lord 
laid  his  hand  upon  me  and  said  : 

This  shalt  thou  do:  Go,  prophesy 
against  thy  people. 


[68] 


VIII 


PHEN  I  arose,  heavy-hearted,  to 
obey  the  Lord’s  command. 

Weeping,  I  arose  to  cry  out  against 
my  people. 

For  their  sins  were  as  scarlet  be¬ 
fore  my  eyes,  shutting  out  the  light. 

And  I  carried,  as  it  were,  a  scroll  of 
the  law  in  my  arms,  next  my  heart, 
and  it  was  tattered  and  blotted  and 
crushed  by  the  careless  feet  of  my 
people. 

Then  I  cried  against  those  that  I 
loved,  and  I  hated  those  toward 
whom  my  whole  being  yearned. 

My  tongue  clove  to  the  roof  of  my 

[69] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


mouth  with  dryness  when  I  tried 
« 

to  cry  out: 

Israel  is  the  first  of  the  nations  to 
be  destroyed . 

Then  the  Lord  struck  me  dumb 
that  I  could  not  speak. 


[70] 


IX 


HEREFORE  am  I  struck  dumb 
that  I  cannot  speak ,  when  the 
Lord  commanded  me  to  speak? 

Then  came  to  me  the  Lord’s  mes¬ 
senger  and  spoke  to  my  heart,  saying: 

Because  the  Lord’s  command  was 
not  a  command  but  only  a  tempta¬ 
tion,  even  as  the  Lord  tested  Abra¬ 
ham  with  regard  to  his  son  Isaac. 

And  now  that  thou  hast  obeyed 
the  Lord  against  thine  own  heart,  and 
in  conflict  with  thine  own  will,  come, 
speak,  plead  before  him  again,  and 
he  will  listen  to  thee  and  answer  thee. 

[71] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


For  the  Lord  has  devised  great 
things  concerning  thy  people. 

For  is  not  thy  heart  also  the  heart 
of  thy  people?  Therefore  speak. 

For  behold,  it  is  decreed:  The  na¬ 
tions  shall  perish;  yet  Israel  lives. 

Then  I  heard,  as  it  were,  the  voice 
of  the  Lord  saying: 

Where  is  my  servant  Israel? 

And  my  speech  returned  and  I 
answered:  Here  am  /. 

And  the  Lord  spoke  again  and 
asked:  Are  you  many? 

Then  I  made  answer:  We  are  many 
as  the  sands  of  the  sea  and  as  the  stars 
of  the  heavens.  We  are  more  than  we 

were  in  any  day  that  is  past.  Yet  are 

[72] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

we  scattered  far  and  wide  to  no  pur¬ 
pose,  and  we  have  gone  astray. 

And  the  Lord  asked:  Where  is 
my  remnant  Israel  that  I  shall 
gather? 

And  I  answered:  Here  am  i.  o 
Lord ,  take  not  account  of  numbers , 
that  we  be  few  or  many ,  nor  look  upon 
those  that  slumber  when  thou  speakest, 
nor  upon  those  that  honor  not  their 
fathers  and  mothers  of  old  time ,  for 
these  have  no  share  in  the  Land  which 
the  Lord  our  God  has  given  us.  Con¬ 
sider  not  our  sins  but  only  our  patient 
waiting.  Why  cry  to  those  that  are 
asleep ,  when  the  watchman  in  the  night 
looks  in  vain  for  a  sign?  0  Lord,  con¬ 
sider  the  remnant  of  Israel . 


[73] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


And  the  Lord  answered: 

O  thou  worm,  Jacob,  thou  little 
one,  Israel,  what  to  me  are  numbers, 
the  many  or  the  few?  Have  I  not 
made  the  stars  in  heaven  and  counted 
them?  Who  can  tell  the  multitudes 
of  the  worlds?  Have  I  not  counted 
the  grains  of  dust  and  the  atoms  of 
the  grains?  Is  there  a  blade  of  grass 
that  comes  to  leaf  without  me,  or  a 
globe  of  pollen  whose  symmetry  I 
have  not  known  and  shaped?  What 
is  man  that  I  should  consider  him,  or 
the  son  of  man  that  I  should  reckon 
with  him?  Yet  man  is  as  an  angel 
before  me,  the  work  of  my  hands.  I 
have  lifted  up  the  worm  to  rule  an 
empire,  and  I  have  taken  an  infant 
[74] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

and  reared  him  to  lead  the  multi¬ 
tudes  of  men.  0  thou  child  of  a 
moment,  breath  that  is  newly  drawn, 
breath  that  is  all  but  spent,  behold, 
in  thee  meet  the  past  and  the  future, 
the  promise  and  fulfilment  find  their 
speech  in  thee. 

For  of  old  time  I  chose  my  servant 
Israel  to  be  a  peculiar  people. 

I  made  him  a  nation  fashioned  to 
my  law,  that  he  might  be  for  a  sign 
and  a  hope  of  the  brotherhood  of 
nations  in  a  savage  world. 

That  all  the  nations  might  learn  to 
walk  in  my  way  by  the  light  of  my 
first-born. 

For  I  said,  thou  shalt  not  set  field 
to  field  for  the  land  is  mine;  nor 

[75] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

shalt  thou  oppress  the  stranger,  for 
thou  wast  a  stranger  in  the  land  of 
Egypt;  nor  shalt  thou  covet  thy 
neighbor’s  land,  for  I  made  all  na¬ 
tions;  but  ye  shall  live  in  peace, 
equal  before  the  Lord. 

And  the  nations  rejected  me  from 
the  day  that  Cain  slew  Abel;  but 
Israel  accepted  me,  therefore  have  I 
dealt  severely  with  him,  to  keep  him 
true.  I  would  not  set  my  house  in 
his  midst  until  his  hands  were  clean 
of  blood.  David,  my  servant  that 
sang  before  me,  dared  not  build  my 
house  because  blood  was  upon  his 
hands.  For  Israel  is  my  Prince  of 
Peace. 

And  when  Israel  sinned,  coveting 

[76] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

glory,  I  sent  my  prophets  out  of  the 
wilderness  to  cry  against  him  and  to 
humble  him.  And  when  he  heeded 
not  my  prophets,  then  I  afflicted  him 
with  the  hosts  of  worms  of  the  tiny 
locust  and  with  the  hordes  of  armed 
and  mighty  princes,  to  overrule  him 
and  to  humble  him. 

For  what  is  my  servant  more  than 
another,  save  that  he  serve  me? 

The  nations  waxed  fat  and  kicked. 
And  empires,  dreaming  they  could 
devour  the  world,  set  up  thrones  in 
my  stead. 

A  Roman  emperor,  ruling  for  a 
day  upon  a  throne  of  dust,  said:  I 
am  the  great  God  who  made  heaven 
and  earth .  And  the  nations  bowed 

[77] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

to  him  and  said:  We  will  be  all  one 
in  worshipping  thee . 

But  Israel  said:  The  Lord  is  my 

God ,  and  he  is  one ,  and  there  is  none 
other . 

So  was  the  life  of  nations  saved 
from  the  crushing  weight  of  empire. 

For  Israel  fought  and  denied,  and 
cried  out:  I  will  not  die  but  live ,  and 
declare  the  praise  of  the  Lord . 

The  legions  of  Rome  came  against 
me. 

But  I  made  the  legions  of  Rome. 
And  the  sword  pierced  its  thou¬ 
sands  of  breasts  in  my  city  Jerusalem, 
and  flames  raged  through  her  streets 
and  burned  and  hissed  through  my 
[78] 


( 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


Temple.  And  the  plow  was  drawn 
over  the  bald  and  desolate  hill  of 
Zion. 

But  I  made  the  sword  and  I  made 
the  flames  and  I  made  the  plow. 

Also  I  made  my  people  Israel. 

And  Israel  went  forth  without  a 
land  and  without  a  sanctuary,  to 
keep  the  divine  gift  of  nationhood, 
the  soul  of  a  people,  undefiled.  For 
they  carried  their  land  upon  their 
shoulders  and  their  sanctuary  in 
their  hearts.  I  have  written  the  law 
of  nations  upon  the  tablets  of  their 
hearts  that  are  more  tender  than 
parchment  and  more  enduring  than 
stone. 

[79] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

But  I  said,  shall  the  nations  stray 
until  Israel  return?  For  only  upon 
my  holy  hill  and  in  the  land  of 
promise  can  the  light  of  Israel  go 
forth  to  all  the  nations. 

And  I  sent  a  seed  from  the  garden 
of  Israel  to  be  planted  among  all  the 
nations  of  the  earth  and  to  sustain 
them  against  the  great  day,  against 
the  kingdom  of  kingdoms  and  the 
nation  of  nations. 

I  sent  one  of  my  children  from  the 
house  of  Israel  to  tell  them  how  each 
man  might  prepare  his  heart  and 
keep  his  way  clean  against  the  day 
when  the  nations  should  learn  right¬ 
eousness. 

But  they  were  corrupt  with  empire. 

[80] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

They  wished  also  to  oppress  with 
the  spirit,  to  send  forth  a  Roman 
legion  of  righteousness;  and  they 
called  it  Catholicism,  they  called  it 
universalism.  They  would  overcome 
oppression  with  oppression,  tyranny 
with  tyranny  and  sin  with  death. 

But  I  will  overcome  oppression 
with  brotherhood,  tyranny  with  free¬ 
dom  and  sin  with  life;  the  brother¬ 
hood  and  the  freedom  and  the  life  of 
nation  with  nation  as  of  man  with 
man. 

Have  I  destroyed  man  because  he 
sinned? 

But  nations  would  destroy  nations 
because  they  have  sinned. 

[81] 


1 


Q  LORD ,  consider  thy  servant  Israel. 

Have  mercy  upon  the  remnant  of 
thy  people .  As  a  soul  without  a  body 
has  he  walked,  a  ghost  among  the 
nations .  As  a  beggar  has  thy  people 
gone  in  rags  that  was  thy  Prince.  Yet 
have  we  not  forgotten.  Yet  have  we 
spurned  the  gold  of  other  kings. 

Thou,  0  Lord,  art  our  king,  and  we 
have  served  thee  in  secret  and  in  open. 

We  have  been  sore  driven.  Hold  not 
our  sins  against  us.  How  could  we  spread 
light  when  we  were  driven  into  dark 
cellars?  How  could  we  see  light  when  we 

were  driven  blinking  into  a  garish  day? 

[82] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


We  have  lost  much.  Yet  have  we 
lost  thee?  Have  we  lost  our  hearts  and 
our  hands  for  service? 

Behold ,  thy  treasures  have  been  di¬ 
vided.  None  of  us  is  complete .  We 
have  been  broken  among  many  lands . 
Yet  each  has  saved  something ,  each 
brings  a  stone  to  the  re-building. 

Spurn  us  not. 

Accept  our  offering.  We  bring  it  as 
atonement  for  the  nations: 

As  atonement  for  their  sins  against 
us  and  against  one  another. 

We  carry  a  closed  casket ,  not  knowing 
its  contents ,  a  casket  rusty  and  dusty , 
hideous  and  strange. 

Is  not  thy  law  within? 

We  carry  a  rough ,  hard  nut  that 
hurts  delicate  fingers. 


[83] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Is  not  the  kernel  of  thy  truth  within? 

I  heard  an  old  woman  praying .  She 
did  not  understand  her  own  words ; 
they  were  mumbled  words ,  ungainly 
spoken ,  sing-song  with  a  dreary  melody. 

They  were  the  words  of  thy  holy 
prophets ,  glorious  in  beauty ,  harmo¬ 
nious  in  melody ,  in  the  mighty  tongue 
of  Israel. 

I  heard  an  old  man  preaching  in  a 
corrupt  speech ,  full  of  all  the  words  of 
every  land ,  curiously  mingled.  Yet 
his  speech  was  a  song.  He  sang  the 
words  to  Hebraic  melody,  to  the  sound 
of  Jordan  rushing  downward,  to  the 
song  of  the  turtle-dove  and  the  pouring 

of  the  rain .  And  the  burden  of  his 

[84] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

speech  was:  The  Lord  has  reigned ,  the 
Lord  reigns ,  the  Lord  will  reign  for¬ 
ever  and  ever . 

He  said:  The  Lord  will  return  to 
Zion ,  and  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
shall  walk  in  his  ways. 

I  saw  the  young  men  who  rejected 
thy  law .  Yet  even  while  they  rejected 
the  law,  they  accepted  it.  For  they 
said:  Irsael  shall  return  to  Zion. 

And  moreover  they  said:  All  men 
are  brothers  and  all  men  are  free. 

In  the  midst  of  slaves  and  slavery, 
bound  hand  and  foot,  they  cried  aloud 
for  freedom.  In  the  midst  of  oppres¬ 
sion,  they  urged  even  their  oppressors 
to  strive  for  freedom.  And  hast  thou 
not  opened  the  door  to  them?  Hast 
thou  not  lifted  the  yoke?  Hast  thou  not 

[85] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

said ,  Arise!  Though  a  million  lay 
dead  at  thy  feet,  starved ,  stricken ,  mur¬ 
dered,  yet  hast  thou  said:  Arise,  ye 
that  are  living,  arise  and  bejree!  And 
have  we  not  rejoiced,  even  in  the  jace 
of  our  dead  and  our  dying?  Have 
we  not  wept  with  joy,  because  freedom 
is  life?  Now,  therefore,  0  Lord,  I 
dare  to  stand  before  thee,  I,  the  worm 
Jacob,  to  plead  for  my  people,  to  plead 
for  thy  servant  Israel.  Set  us  in  our 
Land,  0  Lord,  as  thou  hast  promised. 

Spare  the  nations  that  they  may  pro¬ 
claim  thy  glory.  Set  up  thy  sanctuary 
in  their  midst  in  Zion  that  each  may 
serve  thee  in  his  own  way. 

0  Lord,  thy  remnant  remembers,  thy 
stricken  servant  waits. 

[86] 


XI 


rT'HE  Lord  said:  Call  my  servant, 
1  my  remnant,  that  he  may  answer. 

Then  I  drew  near  and  said:  Wilt 
thou  indeed  sweep  away  the  faithful 
with  the  faithless?  Peradventure  there 
be  found  among  many  millions  but  one 
million  faithful  among  the  children  of 
Israel ,  wilt  thou  indeed  sweep  away 
their  nation  and  not  save  the  nations 
for  their  sake?  Shall  not  the  judge  of 
all  the  world  do  justly? 

And  the  Lord  said:  If  I  find  in  all 
Israel  one  million  faithful,  then  will 
I  forgive  all  the  nations  for  their  sake. 

[87] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

And  I  answered  and  said:  Behold 
now ,  I  have  taken  upon  me  to  speak 
unto  the  Lord ,  who  am  but  dust  and 
ashes .  Peradventure  there  shall  lack 
one  hundred  thousand  of  the  million, 
wilt  thou  destroy  all  the  nations  for 
lack  of  one  hundred  thousand? 

And  he  said:  I  will  not  destroy 
them  if  I  find  in  Israel  nine  hundred 
thousand  faithful. 

And  I  spoke  to  him  again  and  said : 
Peradventure  there  shall  be  but  five 
hundred  thousand  found  there . 

And  he  said :  I  will  not  destroy  for 
their  sake. 

And  I  said:  Oh,  let  not  the  Lord  be 
angry,  and  I  will  speak.  Peradven¬ 
ture  there  shall  be  three  hundred  thou¬ 
sand  found  there. 

[88] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

And  he  said:  I  will  not  do  it,  if  I 
find  three  hundred  thousand  there. 

And  I  said :  Behold  now ,  I  have 
taken  upon  me  to  speak  unto  the  Lord . 
Peradventure  there  shall  be  one  hundred 
thousand  found  there . 

And  he  said:  I  will  not  destroy 
them  for  the  one  hundred  thousand. 

And  I  said:  0  let  not  the  Lord  be 
angry  and  I  will  speak  yet  but  this  once. 
Peradventure  forty  thousand  shall  be 
found  there . 

And  he  said:  I  will  not  destroy 
the  nations  for  the  sake  of  the  forty 
thousand  faithful  in  Israel. 

I  have  seen,  saith  the  Lord,  and  I 
have  also  regarded  it.  For  the  sake 
of  forty  thousand  will  I  rebuild  mv 

[89] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


sanctuary,  and  set  up  this  nation  in 
the  midst  of  the  nations.  And  it 
shall  be  for  a  sign  unto  the  nations 
and  for  a  savior  unto  the  nations,  and 
all  the  waste  places  shall  be  rebuilt. 


[90] 


XII 


nPHUS  saith  the  Lord: 

For  the  sake  of  forty  thousand 
farmers  will  I  redeem  you. 

With  the  blood  of  those  that  died 
by  the  plow  will  I  wash  you  clean. 

Precious  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord  is 
the  death  of  his  pioneers. 

For  I  have  seen,  saith  the  Lord, 
what  my  people  Israel  has  done  in  the 
Land  of  Israel. 

I  cried  from  the  desolate  land  to 
the  desolate  people,  and  they  heard 
me  and  arose  and  came. 

And  they  have  made  the  desert  to 
blossom  as  the  rose.  And  their 

[91] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

hearts  have  burst  into  flower  and 
fruitful  seed. 

They  that  were  silent  sing.  They 
sing  in  the  streets  and  the  fields,  as 
the  women  sang  with  Miriam,  as  the 
redeemed  people  sang  beyond  the 
passage  of  the  Red  Sea. 

They  that  murmured  prayers,  sing 
aloud  in  praises. 

They  dance  to  me  as  David  danced 
unashamed  before  the  ark  of  my 
covenant. 

In  truth  l  have  seen  and  I  have 
heard,  on  the  rocks  of  Judaea,  in  the 
vales  and  mountains  of  the  breezeful 
Galilee,  on  the  plains  of  Sharon,  in 
the  orchards  of  Samaria:  My  forty 
[92] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

thousand  redeemed  people  singing  at 
the  plow,  dancing  beneath  the  moon, 
beneath  the  blossoming  stars  of  the 
great  night  in  the  east. 

They  have  swept  away  the  filth 
of  centuries — centuries  of  death. 

They  have  planted  the  swamps 
with  forests,  and  the  desert  with 
oranges  and  almonds,  and  the  waste 
places  with  the  vine  and  clusters  of 
the  grape. 

They  have  turned  the  swords  into 
plowshares  and  the  spears  into  prun- 
ing-hooks; 

And  they  have  conquered  their 
own  land  with  the  plow. 

They  fell  and  died  in  hosts  before 
the  blast  of  fevers.  They  fell  and 

[93] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

died  in  the  trenches  digging  to  build 
their  homes.  They  failed  that  others 
might  succeed.  And  their  grave¬ 
yards  are  cool  gardens  where  the  vil¬ 
lagers  go  for  refreshment.  They 
sing  and  dance  about  the  graves  of 
their  heroes  that  gave  their  blood  but 
took  none. 

(For  this  is  the  terror  of  wars  and 
of  soldiers’  graves,  not  that  men  are 
killed  in  battle  but  that  they  kill.') 

On  one  side  of  the  road  is  the  grave¬ 
yard  and  on  the  other  is  the  vineyard. 

And  both  are  signs  o  f  my  red emption . 

(How  have  the  soldiers  in  battle 

[  94  ]* 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

dug  deep  to  find  the  caves~of  death, 
to  dwell  as  savages  in  fear  of  a  broth¬ 
er’s  blow!  What  devices  have  they  in¬ 
stalled  in  the  damp  primeval  bowels  of 
earth,  to  make  the  devils  laugh  at  their 
telephones  and  their  electric  lamps!) 

My  people  have  dug  deep  to  find 
the  waters  of  life.  They  have  dug 
for  wells  of  water  in  a  land  whose 
rivers  flow  underground.  They  have 
returned  to  the  wells  of  the  plain, 
the  brooks  and  springs  of  Galilee. 
And  they  dwell  simply  on  the  clean 
earth,  working  with  their  hands  and 
singing  with  their  lips. 

(How  has  the  wheat  of  the  world 

[95] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

been  sown  on  the  ocean  wave  !  They 
have  buried  together  the  bread  and 
him  that  lives  by  bread.  But  still 
hunger  grows.) 

My  people  has  found  the  bread  of 
life  growing  in  a  dry  land;  those  that 
lived  by  my  word  shall  live  also  by 
my  wheat. 

For  in  the  clefts  of  rock,  on  the 
rugged  heights  of  Hermon,  they  have 
found  the  mother  of  wheat,  the  wild 
wheat  that  nurtured  man. 

Give,  O  my  people,  give  to  a  hun¬ 
gry  world  the  bread  of  life. 

Give,  O  my  people,  give  to  a  dying 
world  the  word  of  life. 

[96] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Once  again,  my  people,  come,  for 
now  will  the  nations  listen. 

Now  is  the  time. 

They  have  swept  over  my  land 
with  the  sword, 

Once  again,  one  last  time; 

They  have  shut  down  the  gates  of 
the  sea 

That  my  grapes  were  dried  upon 
the  vine  with  none  to  eat, 

And  my  oranges  turned  brown  up¬ 
on  the  tree. 

There  came  an  army  of  men,  blind 
and  ravenous, 

And  there  came  an  army  of  locusts, 
blind  and  ravenous, 

To  eat  what  the  men  had  spared. 

[97] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


The  reaper  has  been  slain  with 
the  sower, 

For  what  hunger  and  the  pesti¬ 
lence  have  left  has  been  gleaned  by 
the  sword. 

The  little  and  great  conspired  to¬ 
gether  to  devour  my  people, 

To  consume  my  vineyards,  my 
orchards,  my  cities  and  their  builders, 

My  pioneers. 

(This  is  the  last  time,  O  my  people, 
this  is  the  day  of  which  my  prophets 
have  spoken.) 

And  I  found  an  old  man,  one  of  the 
pioneers,  weeping  over  his  vineyard 
that  lay  waste. 

[98] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Then  I  spoke  comfortingly  to  his 
heart,  saying :  Wherefore  weepest 
thou,  that  all  the  labor  of  thy  life 
lies  waste? 

And  he  said,  No,  not  therefore  do  I 
weep.  But  that  my  hands  are  old  and 
my  head  is  bowed,  and  I  cannot  build 
it  up  again. 

Weep  not,  thou  old  man,  child  of 
the  seed  of  Moses.  The  forty  years 
of  wandering  are  over.  Thy  forty 
years  of  toil  shall  be  repaid.  For 
though  thou  shalt  not  see  the  redemp¬ 
tion,  thy  children  shall  see  the  re¬ 
demption. 

Where  have  my  children  gone,  they 

that  speak  the  tongue  of  the  prophets? 

1 99 1 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Where  have  my  children  gone,  driven 
to  all  the  Jar  isles  of  the  sea? 

Thy  children  have  gone  to  gather 
the  dispersed  of  Israel.  Their  tongue 
shall  be  a  trumpet  call  for  the  return 
to  Zion.  And  when  they  come, 
many  shall  be  gathered  unto  them. 
The  ships  shall  be  too  few  for  all  my 
children  coming  home.  And  the  sea 
shall  be  glad  and  rejoice,  and  the 
waves  shall  clap  their  hands. 

The  clouds  shall  sing  in  heaven, 
forgetting  the  hue  of  slaughter.  And 
the  terrible  sea  shall  open  his  arms  to 
man  in  protection. 

For  I  have  said  of  the  sea,  It  is 
mine. 

[ioo] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Often  have  my  people  traveled  in 
ships,  fleeing  from  land  to  land,  driv¬ 
en  by  man  and  by  the  whirlwind. 

Now  shall  they  go  rejoicing,  a  free 
people  singing  their  farewells,  and  the 
blessing  of  all  the  nations  shall  go 
with  them. 

I  also  will  calm  the  seas  before 
them.  I  will  do  miracles  for  a  people 
that  understands  my  signs.  I  parted 
the  Red  Sea  for  my  people  when 
they  stood  desperate  at  the  shore.  I 
did  not  part  the  Red  Sea  while  they 
toiled  as  slaves  in  Egypt. 

Of  my  people  Israel,  many  shall  go 
and  many  shall  stay,  but  those  that 
stay  will  fill  the  hands  of  their  de- 

’[ioi] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

parting  brothers  and  will  bless  them. 
And  the  glad  tidings  of  Zion  shall 
be  spread  in  all  the  nations  by  the 
seed  of  Israel.  For  I  have  said  of  my 
people:  In  you  shall  all  the  nations  oj 
the  earth  be  blessed. 


XIII 


OTHOLJ  that  tellest  good  tidings 

r-/  • 

Zion , 

Get  thee  up  into  the  high  mountain; 
0  thou  that  tellest  good  tidings  to 
Jerusalem, 

Lift  up  thy  voice  with  strength. 


O  my  people  Israel,  that  have  ears 
and  hear  not, 

That  have  eyes  and  see  not, 

Open  now  your  eyes,  let  your  ears 
be  healed. 

Though  you  denied  me,  yet  will  I 
call  you  again. 

[103] 


iThe  Book  of  the  Nations 

Though  you  shut  me  out,  yet  now, 
open,  open  your  gates ; 

Open  to  all  your  brothers  that 
Israel  may  be  redeemed. 

Be  not  righteous  overmuch,  be 
not  pious  with  blindness, 

To  shut  out  my  prophets  because 
I  chose  my  prophets, 

And  not  you. 

Did  I  make  the  law  for  Israel  or 
Israel  for  the  law? 

Therefore  he  that  keeps  the  law 
but  denies  Israel  is  cut  off  from 
his  people; 

But  he  that  denies  the  law  but  ac¬ 
cepts  Israel,  shall  be  a  servant  of  the 

[104] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

law  and  the  least  among  those  that 
keep  the  door  of  my  courts; 

And  in  this  service  shall  his  heart 
be  glad. 

Woe  to  them  that  are  wise  in  their 
own  eyes  and  prudent  in  their  own 
sight ! 

Their  judgment  shall  fail  and  their 
reason  shall  come  to  confusion. 

For  one  shall  ask  them:  What  is 
thy  name? 

\ 

And  they  shall  have  forgotten 
their  own  names. 

They  have  denied  me  when  I  came 
among  them, 

Yet  will  I  receive  them. 

They  turned  my  prophet  empty- 
handed  from  the  gate, 

[105] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Yet  will  I  open  my  gates  to  them; 

For  they  will  yet  repent. 

They  made  mock  of  my  heroes, 
saying:  Shall  we  play  cards  in  the 
waste  places  of  Jerusalem? 

Herzl  was  my  ambassador,  and 
kings  received  him, 

Yet  the  mighty  among  my  people 
turned  him  away. 

They  tore  out  the  heart  of  my 
messenger,  and  made  it  for  a  sport 
in  their  counting  houses. 

They  knelt  to  the  Gentiles  to  be 
whipped. 

They  brushed  their  sleek  coats  with 
the  contempt  of  the  nations. 

[io  6] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


Yet  when  I  sent  them  my  army 
marching  from  the  east, 

My  army  carrying  the  law  as  a 
banner,  and  the  name  of  the  Lord  as 
an  ensign, 

They  said:  How  tattered  are  their 
garments!  They  have  not  shaved  their 
matted  beards .  Let  us  teach  them 
decent  manners . 

They  say:  We  are  missionaries  to 
the  nations.  That  is  what  the  Lord 
meant. 

They  rejoice  at  their  shame,  saying : 
The  Lord  shamed  us. 

And  their  mission  is  to  be  like  their 
neighbors,  their  glorious  shame  for 
which  I  chose  them  is  to  outdo  the 
respected  in  respectability. 

[107] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

O  you  who  trembling  bear  my  cup 
of  life, 

Spilling  the  waters  when  your 
neighbors  jostle  you, 

O  you  who  drink  at  the  wells  of 
strangers, 

Lest  your  own  cup  run  dry  in  a 
land  where  the  wells  are  sold, 

i 

How  can  you  give  drink  unto 
others  who  have  not  enough  for  your¬ 
selves? 

But  in  my  own  land  I  will  set  you 
by  the  wells  of  living  water  that  are 
mine  and  are  not  sold, 

And  you  shall  draw  and  drink,  and 
water  a  thirsty  world. 

Are  you  waiting  for  a  sign? 

[  108] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Do  you  say:  In  old  time  the  Lord 
redeemed  us  from  Egypt .  Let  him  re¬ 
deem  us  now! 

What  was  my  sign  in  old  time? 

Was  it  not  my  prophet? 

Do  you  say:  What ,  this  rabble? 
The  Lord  will  redeem  Israel  when  all 
our  people  are  righteous  as  we. 

But  I  redeemed  a  rabble  from 
Egypt,  a  rabble  of  slaves. 

And  I  shall  redeem  even  you  that 
deny  me,  even  you  that  are  slaves  in 
a  free  land,  along  with  all  my  free 
people  that  shall  freely  come. 

And  I  will  send  by  the  hand  of 
whom  I  will  send. 


This  is  for  a  sign:  The  forty  thou¬ 
sand  in  the  Land  of  Israel. 

[109] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

This  is  for  a  sign :  The  hundreds  of 
thousands  banded  together  through¬ 
out  all  the  lands  of  all  the  earth, 
banded  together  to  redeem  my  people. 

Comfort  ye,  comfort  ye,  0  my  people, 
your  redeemer  comes. 

Say  to  my  people:  I  come. 

It  is  I,  and  no  false  prophet. 

It  is  I,  and  no  deceiver. 

I  myself  shall  lead  you  into  your 
land. 

I  shall  be  your  redeemer. 

And  I  shall  speak  by  the  mouths 
of  children,  or  I  shall  speak  by  the 
mouths  of  councilors. 

Whosoever  speaks  the  words  of  my 

[no] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

salvation,  he  shall  be  to  you  for  a 
leader. 

And  this  shall  be  for  a  sign:  That 
the  nations  shall  set  you  in  your  land, 
And  that  the  sore  and  tired  peoples 
will  choose  you  as  a  balm  of  Gilead. 

And  they  shall  say :  Thispeopleisjor 
peace  and  for  health  in  a  land full  of fevers ; 

This  is  to  save  us  from  the  sword , 
from  the  pestilence  of  oppression , 

For  this  is  a  people  that  has  suf¬ 
fered  in  every  land,  wise-hearted  with 
the  sorrows  of  every  land. 

And  in  your  midst  they  will  build 
the  palace  of  peace 

And  the  temple  of  justice; 

! 

And  I  will  set  you  as  a  watch- 

[iii] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

man  between  the  east  and  the  west, 
To  turn  aside  the  sword  and  to 
keep  open  the  way: 

And  the  nations  shall  live. 

And  you  shall  be  a  little  nation 
among  the  nations. 

And  the  dispersed  of  Israel  shall 
rejoice  with  the  redeemed  of  Israel, 
For  you  shall  no  more  bear  the 
land  upon  your  shoulders, 

But  all  of  you  shall  be  free. 

You  shall  fly  as  with  wings  to  the 
homeland  and  also  the  land  shall 

hy, 

The  land  shall  also  return  from 
oft'  the  backs  of  my  people, 

And  all  of  you  shall  walk  upright, 
[112] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

In  every  land  shall  you  walk  up¬ 
right,  and  also  in  your  own  land. 

And  there  shall  you  dwell  with 
Ishmael  in  peace  and  with  Esau  in 
brotherhood. 

And  the  government  shall  be  upon 
you,  and  they  shall  govern  with  you. 

And  all  the  nations  of  the  world 
shall  be  governed  by  one  govern¬ 
ment. 

The  government  shall  be  mine, 
saith  the  Lord. 

In  that  day  shall  there  be  a  high¬ 
way  out  of  England  through  Ger¬ 
many  into  India. 

And  the  German  shall  come  into 

[  113] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

England,  and  the  Englishman  into 
Germany,  and  the  Englishman  shall 
worship  with  the  German  in  India. 
In  that  day  shall  Israel  be  a  small 
nation  with  England  and  with  Ger¬ 
many,  a  blessing  in  the  midst  of  the 
nations,  for  the  Lord  of  hosts  has 
blessed  him,  saying:  Blessed  be  Ger¬ 
many,  my  people,  and  England,  the 
work  of  my  hands,  and  Israel,  mine 
inheritance. 


[114] 


XIV 

A 

'T'HIS  is  the  day,  saith  the  Lord, 
1  which  I  have  made. 

This  is  the  hour  for  which  the 
peoples  waited. 

This  is  the  day,  and  no  other. 
Woe  to  them  that  sleep! 

Arise,  O  nations,  my  chosen,  arise 
for  the  new  battle, 

For  I  will  give  you  to  your  peoples 
as  I  gave  to  Israel  the  Land  of  Israel; 

And  there  shall  be  no  more  kings, 
for  I  am  king. 

I  alone  shall  reign  in  the  whole 
world. 

Clear  away  the  ruins  of  battle. 

[“5] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

Bury  your  thousands  and  your  hun¬ 
dred  thousands  and  your  millions. 

Let  no  longer  all  your  women  wear 
black,  but  clothe  them  in  crimson 
and  gold  and  white. 

I  will  be  their  bridegroom.  I  come. 
Find  me.  Where  am  I?  In  the 
hearts  of  all  those  that  are  bereaved. 

I  am  the  healing  and  I  am  the 
salvation.  I  am  the  Lord  of  hosts, 
the  leader  who  leads  you  beyond  all 
wars. 

Now,  in  this  day,  I  will  give  you  a 
new  weapon  wherewith  to  conquer 
the  world :  The  sword  of  the  spirit. 
What  is  this  sword  wherewith  you 

slay  a  dozen  or  a  hundred?  This 
[hi  6] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

bomb  that  tears  to  shreds  a  thou¬ 
sand  human  bodies?  Are  there  not 
millions  behind?  What  avails  this 
child’s  play  of  slaughter? 

I  will  give  you  a  new  weapon 
wherewith  to  fight  the  foes  of  man¬ 
kind.  It  will  slay  war  and  waste 
forever. 

Why  laboriously  make  your  weap¬ 
ons?  Are  you  not  supplied  by  me? 

The  bull  has  his  horns,  the  ele¬ 
phant^  his  tusks,  the  snake  his 
poison  and  the  wasp  his  sting. 

Have  I  not  given  to  man  also  a 
weapon  for  the  struggle? 

Have  you  not  within  you  the  sword 
of  the  spirit  wherewith  to  conquer 
the  whole  world? 

[  ii 7] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

I  sound  my  trumpet  for  the  armies 
of  all  the  nations: 

I  am  the  Lord  of  hosts,  0  you  vic¬ 
torious,  O  you  defeated;  I  am  the 
Lord  of  hosts  and  the  victory  is  mine. 

This  is  the  day  of  which  my  proph¬ 
ets  have  spoken : 

That  in  the  end  oj  days  it  shall  come 
to  pass 

That  the  mountain  of  the  Lord's 
house  shall  be  established  as  the  top  of 
the  mountains , 

And  it  shall  be  exalted  above  the  hills ; 

And  peoples  shall  flow  unto  it. 

And  many  nations  shall  go  and  say: 

Come  ye ,  and  let  us  go  up  to  the 
mountain  of  the  Lord, 

[iiB] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 


And  to  the  house  of  the  God  oj  Jacob; 

And  he  will  teach  us  of  his  ways , 

And  we  will  walk  in  his  paths; 

For  out  of  Zion  shall  go  forth  the  law. 

And  the  word  of  the  Lord  from  Jeru¬ 
salem. 

And  he  shall  judge  between  many 
peoples , 

And  shall  decide  concerning  mighty 
nations  afar  off; 

And  they  shall  beat  their  swords  into 
plowshares 

And  their  spears  into  pruning-books; 

Nation  shall  not  lift  up  sword 
against  nation, 

Neither  shall  they  learn  war  anymore. 

But  they  shall  sit  every  man  under 
his  vine  and  under  his  fig  tree; 


[  up] 


The  Book  of  the  Nations 

And  none  shall  make  them  afraid ; 

For  the  mouth  of  the  Lord  of  hosts 
hath  spoken. 

And  all  the  nations  will  each  wor¬ 
ship  and  praise  God  in  its  own  way. 

And  Israel  will  worship  the  Lord 
our  God  in  the  way  of  Israel  forever 
and  ever. 

Arise,  O  watchman,  saith  the  Lord, 
arise  and  proclaim  it, 

For  the  day  dawneth. 


[  120  ] 


Princeton 


1  1 


leological  Seminary  Libraries 


012  01207  9465 


•  t 


I 


